Effects of Drought Stress on Physiological and Biochemical Properties in Castanopsis hystix

Experiments were conducted on different water contents (15%, 30%, 50% and 75%) of media for potted cultivation of 10 half-sib families of Castanopsis hystix seedlings from Fujian Province for 100 days. Changes in POD, SOD, MDA, chlorophyll content, carotenoid content, electric conductivity, and leaf moisture content were measured in order to evaluate drought tolerance. The results showed that there were significant differences among tested half-sib families in POD activity and contents of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b (Ca and Cb), total chlorophyll (Ct), carotenoids (Cxc) and total pigment (Ctp), and drought stress had an effect on growth by influencing leaf pigments. Chlorophyll a had a higher content than chlorophyll b. Seedlings of six families treated with a medium moisture content of 15% died 100 days later. The experiment indicated that tested C. hystixcan families were resistant to drought stress.